Switch Pitcher Pat Venditte Could See Major League Action

29-year-old New York Yankees minor leaguer Pat Venditte normally wouldn’t be a player worth noticing. He’s been in the minors for the past seven seasons after the Yankees selected him in the 45th round of the 2007 amateur draft.

On the surface, Venditte is nothing more than your non-prospect who has bounced around in small towns in an attempt to make it to the Majors.

That’s just on the surface.

Venditte has one redeeming quality that sets himself apart from every other professional baseball player. He’s a switch pitcher. Yes you read that right, a switch pitcher.

Depending on who he is facing on the mound, Venditte will pitch with either his left or right hand. If a lefty is up there, he goes from that direction. If a righty is up there, he pitches with his right hand. What gets interesting is when Venditte faces a switch hitter.

While MLB rules make the situation you see above impossible, it is still a strong strategic advantage for the pitcher.

Venditte is 2-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 26 appearances at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He has also struck out 53 in 56.1 innings on the season.

It goes without saying that the Yankees could use Venditte’s arm for the stretch run. And teams are able to expand their rosters to 40 right now. This is an indication that Venditte will get a call to the Majors.

If so, he will be the first ambidextrous pitcher in the history of MLB. Now that’s a story worth telling.